Body mass index and environmental supports for physical activity among active and inactive residents of a U. S. southeastern county.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the associations between body mass index (BMI) and environmental supports for physical activity in active and inactive adults based on national recommendations for physical activity and walking. Residents of a southeastern community (N = 1,111; ages 18-75 years) were contacted using a random-digit-dial method and were asked about neighborhood and community social and environmental supports for physical activity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Physical activity was measured using the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) physical activity module. RESULTS: There was a positive association between higher physical activity and walking levels and lower BMI levels. Trusting neighborhoods, having recreational facilities present, and using trails were each associated with twice the odds of being overweight versus obese among those not meeting the national physical activity recommendations. Using trails was also associated with 2.7 times the odds of being overweight as opposed to obese among participants who were not regular walkers. CONCLUSION: Improving environmental supports for access and use of trails and recreational facilities may be important for future environmental interventions aimed at reducing obesity among inactive individuals.     

Meta-analyses and systematic reviews of psychological treatments for chronic pain: relevance to an evidence-based practice.

As evidence-based practitioners become more reliant on systematic reviews to inform treatment, it becomes important to systematize reporting details as well as improve the quality of the primary studies that will later be incorporated into this secondary literature. In this article, the authors consider several specific factors that can serve this function in the area of chronic pain: (a) adhering to a standardized set of reporting standards; (b) measuring a standardized set of short- and long-term outcome variables; (c) providing information about individual differences; and (d) providing detailed, easily accessible documentation of the treatment program (or progams). The article also highlights ways that practitioners and researchers can collaborate on treatment outcome research, thereby improving the ability to discover and disseminate effective treatments for patients who suffer from chronic pain.     

"Do as I say, not as I do": family influences on children's safety and risk behaviors

OBJECTIVE: Although there is considerable speculation that family-based socialization processes influence children's safety and risk behaviors, few studies have addressed this important issue. The present study compared the impact of parent practices and teaching about safety on children's current behaviors and their intended future behaviors when they reach adulthood. DESIGN AND MEASURES: Children 7 to 12 years of age were interviewed and asked to report on their parents' practices and teachings (discussions, expectations for children's behavior) regarding five common safety behaviors. As well, the children reported on their own current practices and how they intended to behave when an adult. When appropriate, they provided explanations about why their parents engage in fewer safety behaviors than they required of their children. RESULTS: Children's current behavior was best predicted by parental teaching, however, how children planned to behave when they were adults was best predicted by parents' practices. Children attributed less frequent safety behaviors by their parents than themselves to general attributes of adults and their parent having special skills that made the safety practices less necessary than was true for children. CONCLUSION: These results highlight family influences on children's adoption of safety and risk practices and support the notion of intergenerational transmission of risk behaviors.     

Mentoring and professional development in careers services in higher education

Mentoring is examined as a support mechanism for trainees undertaking new in-service professional qualifications for the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS). An initial pilot scheme proved that mentoring was viable in the AGCAS context. An outline is presented of how the transition was made from a pilot group of eight trainees in one region to a national scheme, providing mentors for over fifty trainees. The selection procedure for mentors, the process of matching them with trainees, the regional network for induction training and support, and the documentation associated with the mentoring scheme, are described.     

Apolitical courts? Rape sentencing in Montana

This analysis examines dockets of the state courts of Montana for the years 1987-1989 in rape cases to determine whether sentencing decisions are significantly related to three political variables: the percentage of women in county executive office as a measure of a relevant judicial constituency, the extent to which the county in which a court is located is Democratic, and whether the judge who enters a decision was appointed or elected. The analysis suggests that two legally relevant facts—the crime rate and multiple charges against a defendant—are significantly related to outcome. Political factors do not appear to influence state court sentencing decisions in rape cases since: (1) sentencing decisions in rape cases are not ‘major’, publicized issues; (2) the selection of state court judges (appointed and elected) is nonpartisan; and (3) interest groups were not involved in rape sentencing cases.     

The Wakonse Conference on College Teaching

A Wakonse Conference on College Teaching is a week-long retreat that provides renewal and support for college teaching. Offered in a secluded environment away from campus, it engages faculty from various colleges in demonstration and discussion of what makes teaching effective and rewarding. Wakonse is a grassroots movement within the academy to bring teaching to the forefront and make it central to the mission of higher education. Support for what makes Wakonse effective can be found in much of the student development literature.     

Education and testing strategy for large-scale cystic fibrosis carrier screening

Population-based screening for cystic fibrosis carrier mutations presents a number of challenges for genetic counselors, owing primarily to the inability of current DNA testing technology to identify all possible mutations and the difficulty involved in conveying the concept of residual risk to those patients who test negative. To address these issues, we are conducting a pilot study, as part of a consortium established by the National Center for Human Genome Research, to explore the efficacy, acceptance, and psychosocial impact of various approaches to carrier screening in an ethnically diverse Southern California population. This article reports the patient instructional and screening strategies we developed in the initial phase of the project in order to optimize our chances of answering these questions and delivering this service on a large scale.